Tag Archives: Motivation

Wow. That statement really hit me hard and made me think.
I mean, we all have had our days that adulting is hard, right?
Any of these sound or look familiar??? Hello…Mondays right?!

But to go as far as to say that adulthood is where dreams go to die?!

What did this really mean? Is it true? Are we all doomed?!

Let’s dive deeper…
As children, we are encouraged to use our imaginations, read, play and dream.
As adults we are encouraged to go to work, make money and pay bills.
I have to say, I am finding it hard to disagree with the statement at this point.

Well, I will tell you with certainty that for those that truly believe that adulthood is where dreams go to die, it is. Those are the ones that will succumb to being stuck going to a job they don’t love (and maybe even hate) to pay the bills and make a living. But is that really a ‘living’ at all…or simply an existence?

Luckily, there is hope. You see, it is all about perception and there is another way to look at this. Adulthood doesn’t have to be where our dreams go to die. Where is there a rule that says as we get older we have to stop using our imaginations? Stop reading? Stop playing? Stop dreaming?

Well, there isn’t one. We place that perceived barrier on ourselves.
So let’s all do ourselves a favor and get out of our own way! It is time to connect to your inner child. Imagine, read, play, dream…believe!

Don’t let adulthood be where your dreams go to die…let it be where they come alive! ❤
The power is all yours.

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New Year’s Eve…another year coming to an end and a new one about to begin. We all know that this time of year brings reflections of the past year and resolutions for the new year. New year, new you right?…Wrong!

Why is it that each year at this time many of us decide we are either going to create a new version of ourselves or ignore the new year resolution movement all together and change absolutely nothing? I have always been a firm believer that if you aren’t happy with something, change it! And that is something that I live by 365 days per year…not just at the new year. Well Mary Engelbreit took it a step further:

What if we all changed the way we think? If you really think about it, we do so many things simply because we feel we are expected to or because that is the way that everybody else does it. Could we change the way the world works if we all just changed the way we think?

I have decided that for 2015 I am going to try a little social experiment. My family, like so many others, is struggling to make ends meet and living paycheck to paycheck. However, I want to help make a difference in our community and have always wished that I could “win the lottery” so I could help others more. Well, I am going to change the way I think about that. Knowing full well that I will in all reality never win the lottery, it is time to stop waiting for that time before I help others. So, how do I make a difference without hurting my own family financially? Hmmm…what if every household donated $1 each month to one organization? What a difference that would make! So that is what I have decided to do. I am going to commit to donating $1 each month in 2015 to a local organization. Only $12 for the year. My family can definitely handle that financially. But $1 to an organization is not much help is it? Well, every little bit helps so I will first not feel guilty about “only donating $1.” Second, I am a communicator, an organizer and I have hundreds of friends, family and coworkers. We are stronger and more effective as a team then we are individually, so why don’t I use my organization and communication strengths and put them to good use! So here is my challenge to each of you…join me in donating $1 each month to help our community. I am happy to collect any donations that others wish to give and will give the total amount each month to a different organization. I would love to hear from you on which organizations we should choose…we need 12…so please communicate those suggestions to me! I will make the donation at the end of each month so that allows time to collect the donations from all of you. I will document each donation with a photo and will blog about each one as well.

So this is the start of me changing the way I think…and it is just the start. I hope that this helps inspire you to change the way you think as well. I want to hear your new thoughts and ideas and your plans as well…please feel free to share them with me and others so we can all continue to motivate and inspire each other and make the world a better place for us and for our children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and so on.

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I have noticed in my experiences that there appears to be two general “kinds” of people in life:
1. Those that make things happen.
2. Those that wait for things to happen.

I have also noticed, however, that we all fall into not one, but both of these categories depending on the situation.
I, for example, makethings happen when it is something that I am excited/motivated about. But if it is something that makes me uncomfortable or I am not motivated to do, I tend to procrastinate and waitfor things to happen.

Does this sound familiar? Are you picturing your life and different situations you have been in? What do you do the majority of the time…make or wait? Which do you want to do? Which do you want to be known for?

That, my friend is where the lesson lies! Which do you want?
This is where we need to learn and/or remind ourselves that we are in charge of our lives. Yes, sometimes “life” happens and there are many things that are out of our control. However, we can still control how we react and what actions we take.

Are you feeling down and lonely? Don’t dwell on those feelings…DO reach out and socialize with family and friends or reconnect with long-lost friends! Don’t have many family or friends…that is ok too. Time to step outside your comfort zone a bit and start making some new friends! You can do this. One baby step at a time. You just have to start talking to people…you never know who you will connect with!

Are you looking for a new job but feeling like there is just “nothing out there”? Don’t give up! DO start researching the field you want to be in and the companies you want to be a part of. Start networking and make as many professional connections as you can! Learn all you can and get out there and sell yourself as the great candidate you are!

Do you wish that you had more money? A different house? Less stress? A healthier body? The list goes on and on! We all wish for something or for many things! The trick is to focus on what you want the most, and then look at how you can make it happen. Get creative, think outside the box, explore all options (even those that seem impossible). You can do this!

So get out there and start making things happen!

If you are so inclined, please share with us what you have accomplished! Help share your stories to inspire others. It is amazing the power that sharing our stories holds!!

Until next time…
Make it a fantastic day!

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Have you ever told yourself (or had a friend, family member or doctor tell you) that you need to “get in shape”, “get healthy”, “lose weight”, etc.? Do you find yourself lacking in motivation to do anything about it?

Living a healthy lifestyle is overwhelming if it is not something you are already doing. It is easy and all too common to become highly motivated and jump in with both feet only to get overwhelmed and discouraged very quickly. Thus making your “healthy lifestyle” venture short and painful in memory due to stress and guilt.

So here is the answer for you…are you ready?
Get Creative!

Ok I know what you are thinking…”This woman has lost her mind…That answer doesn’t help us at all!”

So here is the help that goes along with the answer.

1. First determine what it is that you enjoy doing.
Do you enjoy reading, watching television, gaming, bowling, dancing, competition? What is something that you feel excited about doing?

2. Now take that thing that you love to do and make it into something fitness-related.
Get creative with this…think outside the box…heck, throw the damn box away (recycle it please ;))!!
I know this sounds silly and may seem near impossible, but I challenge you all to give me activities that you love to do so we can brainstorm together and find a way to make it a healthy activity that you will actually do because you enjoy it!

I will give you one example that I used with one of my clients at work.
She and her husband enjoy bowling. Any mention of eating better or going for a walk and he (like most of us) mentally checks out and thus is not motivated to follow-through with it. So I suggested we look for a way to make bowling healthy and a fitness-related activity. I ended up finding an article in a Philadelphia magazine (Be Well Philly) called “I tried it: Bowling for Fitness at Sweat Fitness and Frames“. Great article!
Obviously those of us that do not live in Philadelphia will not be able to attend this facility and participate in this program…but we CAN take the ideas and creatively apply them to our own activities. I love the ideas presented in the article regarding doing jumping jacks and other activities to keep your heart rate up in between frames or while your partner is bowling his/her frame. Will people look at you funny? Probably…but who cares! You are getting healthy and having a blast doing it (don’t tell me you won’t burn a whole lot of calories just laughing at each other and at yourself during this)!

So your challenge is to comment on this blog and give me an idea of what activity/hobby you enjoy doing that we can make into a fitness-related activity.

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So it is Monday…
Did anybody else have a difficult time getting out of bed this morning? The very first conscious thought I had today was “I don’t wanna get up” (in a whiny voice) when my alarm went off at 5:00am. Guess how my day will go if I keep that mentality all day. Probably not so great and I would have a severe case of the Mondays.

Thus take a stand against the “Mondays”…and no I do not want you to boycott your TPS reports or take a printer out to a field and destroy it! (Office Space references for those that haven’t seen this iconic movie) 🙂
Instead change your way of thinking! Ok, I know how cliche that sounds and how that is so much easier said than done…but I am going to walk you through this so stay with me!

This morning when my alarm went off and I had those feelings of blah and all I wanted was to roll over and go back to sleep, I instead got up and walked into my bathroom (grumbling the entire way). Step one…get up!! 🙂
Next, as I was brushing my teeth, I thought about what the day ahead of me held. What meetings do I have at work? What projects am I working on that I am excited about? What television programs are on tonight that I look forward to watching? What fun things do I want to do with my kiddos when I get home from work? Just thinking about those questions brought me out of the blah and got me motivated enough to at least stay awake and hop in the shower to proceed to get ready for work!
Finally, I turned on my handy IHeartRadio app on my phone and listened to some of my favorite tunes as I finished getting ready. By the time I was dressed and ready to go, I had a whole new outlook on my day and my attitude was much brighter! The grumblings and whiny voice disappeared and were replaced by singing and dancing and a smile! A much better way to approach the day and to start the week!

So if you find yourself grumbling this morning as I was…do yourself (and everybody that has to deal with you today) a favor and take a moment to think positive and find your happiness. Trust me…your day will be much brighter if you start it with a song in your heart rather than a whiny voice in your head. 🙂

For those that have noticed…I usually end things with the phrase “Make today fantastic or happy and healthy” and not “Have a fantastic or happy day”. Do you see the difference? You have the power to MAKE your day what it will be…it is not pre-determined. So go out and make it wonderful for you and others!

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Well it is 2013 and I am finally starting to get caught up with technology and the rest of the world!
I thought I would give this blog thing a try.

So, first things first, I should probably introduce myself.
Hello, my name is Lori Thomas.
Like many others, I wear a plethera of ‘hats’ in life. I am a daughter, a grand-daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother, a friend, a corporate Wellness Coordinator, a confidant, etc., etc., etc.

The largest (or most important) ‘hats’ that I wear are being a wife and mother.
I am married to Todd, an amazing man who is patient beyond reason, kind-hearted, and loves me and our children. I don’t tell him often enough how much I adore him and how much he means to me. He is an amazing father and an incredible husband. We have four (yes four) beautiful children. Now I know that every mother says that their children are beautiful, but mine really are…and yes I am being facetious so don’t get offended already! LOL! 🙂
Our oldest boy, Logan, will turn 5 years old this March. Yes you read that correctly…our OLDEST of four children is turning 5 this year. So let me take this tangent quickly to answer a few questions:
1. Yes, we are a little crazy.
2. Yes, we are VERY busy and have our hands full!
3. Yes, we know how this happens.
4. No, we are not having any more children and Yes, I am sure because I had the doctor make sure of it! 🙂

Ok, back to the introductions…
As I was saying, Logan will turn 5 this March.
Austin just turned 3 in December.
Alexis (Lexie) turns 2 this Wednesday.
And Liam will be 12 weeks old this Thursday.
My children are my life so you will hear about them frequently. If you are not interested in hearing about children…it was nice meeting you and very nice chatting with you. But this is not the blog for you! 🙂

Another major ‘hat’ that I wear is my professional one. As I stated earlier, I am a corporate Wellness Coordinator. Now to explain what that is exactly. I coordinate all of the internal (designed for the employees of the company) wellness programming (health fairs, incentive programs, presentations, team challenges, onsite wellness center, etc.) for a local corporation. I don’t know the ‘rules’ yet of blogging so I am not sure if it is ok for me to say where I work at this time. I am very proud of my company and I LOVE what I do so if I am allowed to say, you will likely hear about my job and my company quite often as well. Again, if that doesn’t sound appealing, it was nice meeting you…now scram! 🙂

Ok, so now that the boring parts are out of the way…on to the blogging!
I plan to use this site to post my random thoughts and experiences, things I learn, mistakes I make, successes I have and successes I help others achieve. My goal is to reach out and use my life experiences to help others in any way I can. If I make a fool and learn from it, I hope to help others learn from it too without having to go through the making a fool part themselves! My entire career is about helping other people set and accomplish goals in their lives and it is such a passion of mine that I want to do that in any capacity I can…even outside of work. Wellness is not just physical activity and nutrition, but really every aspect of your life.
I will share parenting observances, fun kid-friendly ideas, and sometimes just fun “feel-good” moments from my children.

I hope you choose to follow my blog and that you enjoy me and my random ramblings and life experiences!
I want all to live well and I am the “mama” of these 4 crazy, beautiful beings thus the creation of “livewellmama”!